Thursday, January 20, 2011

With Valentines approaching my thoughts turn to roses which are the most desirable flower for Valentine's Day. Unlike many flowers roses are available year round and are appropriate for any occassion.

Next time you send roses to the one you love why not think outside the box?

The tradition of sending roses either in a ribbon wrapped box or wrapped in floral wrap is giving way to sending a designed arrangement that doesn't require the recipient to do anything other than enjoy the roses.

It's all done for them- no more searching for a vase and the frustration of trying to make the roses look like they were professionally arranged.

There are interesting designs to suit all ages, styles, and budgets.

I have chosen just a dozen ways to show you the diversity of what is current in the world of floral design but there are countless ways to display beautiful roses ranging from a single rose to a luxuriant lush arrangement.

Red roses are often sent on Valentines but there are many new colours to choose from including roses with one colour on the front of the petals and another on the back. There are also striped roses and petals that are fringed with different colours.

Natural colours range from white to green to a deep red rose called Black Baccara and almost everything in between. Black Baccara is verging on Black velvet but not quite there yet.

Blue or deep purple roses are so far only available in dyed roses although growers have been trying for years to develop a blue rose and some are getting pretty close.

If you do want a specific novelty rose you should order it several weeks in advance but if you just want to try something different there is almost always a few unique roses to choose from other then the standard one coloured rose.

You will notice there is quite a range in price for roses. Many roses are grown in Columbia under unhealthy conditions for the workers caused by the over use of chemicals.Most of these workers are not provided with medical assistance for the illnesses they get on the job and are very poorly paid. Columbian roses are typically the roses you will find in most grocery stores.They do not last long and they are usually inexpensive.

Like many florists I only purchase my roses from Green Growers. The imported roses come from farms in Ecuador where they treat their workers with respect and provide them with medical coverage.Rather than douse the roses with chemicals these farms use biological means of controlling insects whenever possible limiting pesticides to the very minimum if they use them at all.

These imported roses do cost more but they are also healthier for you and the environment and they last longer.

I also purchase good healthy roses from our local grower, Eurosa ,who use environmentally friendly methods of controlling pests .

The local roses do tend to be on the smaller side but they last a long time like the larger imported Ecuadorian roses.

Unfortunately, unlike garden roses, most commercially grown roses have little or no fragrance. This is because the gene that creates scent shortens the life of the rose so it has been bred out of the rose.Some growers are now working on a way to bring back the fragrance without shortening the lifespan of the rose so hopefully "smelling like a rose" will soon apply to commercial roses again.

Whatever the reason or occassion you simply cannot go wrong with the beautiful rose but next time rather than send roses by the bunch choose a beautiful arrangement instead.